The Lion King: The Fifth Age
by joevil2025
Summary: One year since Tatter began his rule he must now raise up the young Triton to take over his place, can he lead the cub in the path of good, or will the little albino lion prove to be more trouble than he's worth?
1. Preview

Lion King: The Fifth Age

Preview

One year after the fourth age Tatter's rule is well underway, but he must now raise a child that is not his own to be the next king. But when something that takes the future kingship away from Triton comes along will the young albino cub stay on the good side, or will the darkness within his heart take over for good.


	2. Chapter 1

Lion King the Fifth Age

Ch1

Triton sat with his uncle upon the ledge of pride rock, the young six year old was watching the land, almost a year had gone buy and he'd been told for six years now he'd be the next king, but another firm paw he didn't recognized pushed, and he fell, he fell into darkness. He awoke with a start near his mother, he got up shaking out his fear and sleepiness, it had only been a dream. According to the sun it was now a quarter past the morning, no one in pride rock had decided to get up though, his uncle, the current king and the one who's thrown he'd take one day was lying curled around his new wife Sandra. Triton stretched popping several bones when he did, and started outside, sighing when a lioness quickly followed him out, the older lioness was named Konya and she was his baby sitter.

Not long after the destruction of the fire mountain Tatter made things right with himself and re-invited Konya, Ront, and their children, into the cave, and they willingly accepted, all Tatter demanded is that Konya baby sit once more. She never let the child out of her sight and slept lightly close next to him, this morning awake before anyone else she trotted out behind the young cub to the side of pride rock. "Good morning Triton," she said walking up and coming to a sit next to the young prince, "and happy birthday."

"Aw man," he wined, "you don't have to remind everyone."

She shrugged, "I won't have to, I'm sure your mom will remind everyone." She laughed at his expression. "Listen my little king, your growing up, your seven now, you have an uncle and a mother that loves you, nothing to be embarrassed about."

Triton shook his head, "I just don't like being the center of attention." He wined.

Konya just laughed, "Well you'll hate being king!"

"Why?"

"There always the center of attention, look at your uncle. Everyday he has to meet with dozens of lions and take care of his pride lands, and that's not including special events where thousands pay attention to him."

Triton scoffed starting down off pride rock, "Well then I won't be king,"

She smiled following him, "You don't have much of a choice unless your uncle gets you a little cousin instead."

He shrugged, "Then you make him one."

She laughed, "that's not how it works," then she looked around frowning as they walked past the water hole and towards the ravine, "Where are we going?"

"The remains of Fire Mountain."

"What? We can't go into the elephant graveyard! It's forbidden!" She bounded around in front of him blocking his path.

"Elephant graveyard, what's that?"

She shook her head, "Nothing, but that land is still beyond our boundaries, no ones allowed."

"Take a chill grandma," the kid mocked her going around the lioness, "it's where everyone hangs out now days."

"What? But it's guarded."

"Come with me and you will see."

She was partially right, it was guarded, but only in the ravine to keep visitors out, no one guarded the rest of it, and the way in she used so many years ago to save Tatter was still standing, a few hops down a few ledges and they where on a rocky wasteland that was nothing like she remembered. And he was right, there where lots of lions and lionesses of all young ages spanning from cubs to teens hanging, playing, talking. Some of them eyed the older lioness with disgust, she just looked around in wonder, there wasn't a single skeleton left, and the only discernable feature of any past here was the pile of boulders that had once been Fire Mountain.

"Wow, I guess no hyena's live here anymore."

He shrugged, "I've never seen one, none in here at least." He nodded to some of his friends and went over to chat with them. These where kids he met at the watering hole and brought him here, there was Ben, a skinny lion with spots where his whiskers met his face, Sai, a slightly chubby and extremely winy lion who always tailed Ben, and a lioness named Price, who would look beautiful to those who cared, but they where just young kids, and they didn't care of such things for now.

"Who's the old hag?" Ben asked eyeing Konya

He shrugged, "My babysitter."

"You brang your adult to the Fire Mountain?" Price asked eying the cub curiously, "Are you mad."

"Oh please, she's been here twice, and that was when it was a more dangerous place."

"You mean the?" Price perked up a little

"Yeah,"

"Did you tell her?" Sai asked a little panicky.

"No, as far as she knows where clueless, she has no idea that the graveyard still exists in caves underneath."

Ben shook his head, "and how do we keep _her _clueless."

"We hang out above ground for today, she can't let go of me while she's in charge of watching me." He smirked, "so if I don't go down, she can't go exploring either."

Price no longer cared about that, "She was here when it was a grave yard, what happened?" she asked looking wonderingly at the older lioness who was in turn peering around in wonder herself.

Triton laughed, "Well the first time she was our age, she went with what is now her mate and they came here to prove there bravery. Only they got caught buy some hyenas, and one swiped at Ront scarring and permanently damaging his eye." He made a swiping motion across Sai's eye who yipped and backed up, Triton was way too theatrical for his taste, "then several years later when my uncle was our ages and she was _his _baby sitter, he came in here to prove himself, he got himself seriously hurt, that's where he got his scar, grandma told me it's the scardest she's ever been!" he jumped at Sai again who yipped and hid behind the rock, Triton continued, laughing, "So she had to rescue him, and she killed a hyena to do so, just snapped its neck like this." He stepped on a twig and it snapped in half with a sharp crack, drawing the attention of the older lioness who had been lost in thought, "and she grabbed him up and saved him, but she was banished from pride rock for loosing him in the first place."

Price had been listening closely, then looked up to the lioness who was approaching, "Whoa."

"Huh?" Konya asked sitting in with the group.

"You're sooo cool" she said.

Konya gave her a confused look, "Ok, listen guys, I understand your hanging out here and its cool and all, and there are no more hyenas left, but Triton and I have to be off."

"Aw, why?" Triton wined

She gave him a stern look, "Because I'm getting too old for this and it'll be a cold day in hell when I'm kicked off pride rock again, especially at this age," she mouthed and picked up the cub who gave her a frustrated look as his friends snickered at him, "now come."

He waved to his friends while she carried him out and off, partway he started wiggling, "Put me down!" he fussed and she dropped him, he grunted to his feet and shook himself off, catching up with his baby sister.

"You didn't have to do that; I could've walked myself the whole time."

"I didn't want to debate it or get distracted, after all your uncle's been through if we I been caught down there with you I would've been in more trouble than when I was caught down there with him."

"Oh come on, there's no way to get hurt down there, we are perfectly safe."

"Not buy hyenas at least," she admitted hurrying along as they passed the watering hole,

"What do you mean, how else?"

She smirked at him, "Because you're a kid, and kids get hurt being kids all the time, your not doing it while I'm on guard though."

"Oh," he wined, "Now you're just being stupid."

"Where have yall been all day," the king greeted them as they climbed pride rock, Tatter had grown a little in the last year, he was meatier and bigger, he looked as if he could take on thousands of Scar followers, or resurrected ones, he just prayed he'd never have to again.

"I" Konya started but Triton was quickly center of attention, odd, she thought, for someone who didn't like it loved it from his uncle.

"We went somewhere real cool!" he exclaimed, and Konya could feel herself shrinking down into herself, and lying down, what was he doing, he was going to blow it, "We went down there!" Triton nodded to the ravine, "I finally got to go!"

Tatter laughed, "Oh well, I knew you wanted to go, I was going to take you but kingly duties keep me pretty busy, I'm glad you have fun," and he nodded to Konya who looked oddly relieved, "and I'm glad you decided to wait till there where no crowds."

As the king walked away Triton came up to his baby sitter grinning widely, "Gotcha" he whispered.

"Jerk," she brooded, staying in her spot.

Their days were filled as normal, half the time Konya watched over him, the other half either his parents where watching over him or he was on his own, he liked the latter the best. He taught his friends to play push the rock like his uncle had taught him, and he was about to turn into another year older when the season of love hit, the day of romance, when it seemed the whole kingdom was mating, the friends hung out in there usual spot.

"This is such a boring day, no one older is around!" Ben wined finally ignoring the rock as it slid through the dark soil towards him.

Triton gave him a frustrated look, "We can't play if you're going to just walk off like that!"

"Ah, I'm getting bored of it today anyway, we need adventure," he turned and jumped at Sai who backed off a little, this got a snicker from Price, "We need something challenging." He jumped at Triton who just gave him an impatient look, "We need to fight the enemies!"

"Aiming a big large there don't you think?" price giggled

"No!"

Sai whimpered, "We could just go home and sleep the rest of the day off."

Triton shook his head, "Sai, if it was for you we'd sleep every day off. Come, let's go this way." And they climbed out of the ruins of the mountain and headed away from the pride lands.

"No way!" Sai protested as the rest of the lions walked even further from the pride land, "We're going beyond or borders into another pride."

Triton shrugged, "Their our allies, besides we'll only look a little then hit back home, you'll get _plenty _of sleep Sai."

As they walked Sai stuck with his friend Ben which left Triton and Price taking up the rear, "So" she whispered, "you ever going to be like those adults?"

He scoffed, turning his thin white snout against the wind, "Never."

"Why not" she gave him a hurt look

"Cause it's too much trouble, marriage, mating, the whole thing, I've seen my fa…uncle, I've heard of his stories from others, hell just look at our teachers. Too much trouble, I'll be a one man lion for the rest of my life!"

She sighed, "Well _that's _no fun."

He eyed her, and evil grin spreading across his face, "Why, are _you _going to get married?" he teased, drawing looks from the leading lions.

"Hush" she quieted him, still whispering.

"Well?"

She nodded, "I look to one day having a large family and starting my own pride with a husband."

He laughed, "Make yourself a queen?"

She nodded, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, being royal ain't all its packed up to be, my uncle does lots of work!"

"I can handle work,"

They carried on until Sai finally stopped and sat, they where atop a hill which marked the end of any association with their own pride land, the ruins of the mountain far behind them, and the day was reaching to a close. To their left, to the south, was the outlands, but up here it was lush and green, and from here they could see the whole valley which marked the pride of jaguars. They had never actually seen any and to the cubs they looked strange. "There like lions without manes." Price ogled at them.

"There so _skinny" _Sai insisted.

Ben laughed, "Everything's skinny to you Sai, whoa look at that one go!" one was chasing down its prey, running much faster than lions usually ran, almost a blur of fur, "Wow their so fast."

"Let's go meet them!" Triton urged them

"Oh come on!" Sai wined

Triton insisted but even Ben and Price had their share, "Gotta know when to call it a day," she said, "Maybe when where old enough to take the cats on."

"But their allies." Triton wined.

"Doesn't mean that they're our friends." Ben said leaving Triton in a stupor; that had made no sense to him what so ever.

Meanwhile back in pride rock the lions and lionesses where spending there own personal times without the cubs today, including Tatter and Sandra. It was a time of love, of cuddling, and for some including the king, sex. Buy the time Triton was back with his friend Price, who had decided to stay over for the night, the king and his wife where asleep.

"What's that smell?" Price asked wrinkling her nose.

"You don't wanna know." Triton said shaking his head, while his mother had staid true to his father and never wed again he had caught his uncle and aunt doing it plenty, and he was used to the smell.

"Ugh, its all around the cave, can we sleep outside?"

"Outside? But…" he was used to sleeping with his mom, he didn't ever sleep alone, especially not outside.

Price gave him a sly smile, "Unless you're scared."

The white cub scoffed, "I ain't afraid of nothing!" and followed his friend outside; he got a snuck peak from his father.

"Stop spying on them," Sandra complained rubbing up against her husband her eyes still closed, he put his paw around her shoulder and his head onto of hers,

"You think _their _destined for each other?"

"It happens some times, your father and the king Simba hung with their mates since child hood."

He sighed "Yeah but look at how much trouble I had when I was young," his white strand hung in front of his eyes and he tried unsuccessfully to blow it aside, "I hope he doesn't have it that rough."

Sandra shifted and curled up a little trying to get comfortable, "Quite and go to sleep Tatter, I got to get up early for hunting tomorrow's breakfast, leave this worry for his mother."

He laughed, "Right." She had pulled her head out of his reach so he pushed his face into her back and quickly fell asleep.

The cubs settled outside, price just stared at the night sky, "Look at all of them."

"What?" Triton asked looking around closer to the ground, expecting something else

"The stars look at all of them,"

He looked up, "Oh, the kings."

She gave him a curious look, "The what?"

He looked at her, then away putting his head on his paws, a little embarrassed, "Oh, no, it's nothing, just a silly story my uncle insists is true."

She eyed the prince, "Come on, I wanna know."

Triton sighed, "Well, okay, my uncle says as ordained since the days of Mufasa and before then that the king's of old watch over there lands, and guide the next kings along."

"Whoa" she gaped looking back up with her mouth open, "That's cool."

"No its not, it's stupid, I have to hear it every time me and uncle Tatter are out around the plains at night."

"Oh" she said still looking at the sky, "Then why do you think the King's so affixed on it?"

Triton shrugged, his eyes growing weary, "Dunno, he claims before we where born the Kings past, including my grandfather, helped save the plains from a past evil."

She looked down, "I know that story." But Triton was already out, she eyed him, he was a good friend but she had a special place in her heart for him even if this ruffian didn't believe in such things. He was growing older every day, as he grew older there was a spot on the top of his head, where his mane would grow that was darkening, as well as the curves around his eyes where beginning to darken as well.

Triton never went to school but being the next king he had full roam of the Pride Lands when his uncle would let him out, and many times watched his friends in class, in fact other than hanging with them or learning some royal protocol, which he despised, he did this most often, except on days like today. Today it was wet, raining steady all day, and on rainy days his uncle seemed more protective than usual. He was never allowed outside on rainy days unless he had an escort from his uncle, his aunt, or his mother, with him at all times.

He hated this because it was said, though he had never experienced it, that some of the heat that still existed in the ruins of Fire Mountain made the whole place steam and it was real cool to hang out there. Luckily his friends didn't forget him, not long after noon when his family had finished off a meal drug into the cave his friends came trotting in, dripping.

Price shook getting water on a few lioness and gathering a few glares from them, "Sorry, sorry," she said nervously hurrying over to Triton and Tatter, whom she gave an exasperated look, "man I'm going to be wet for the rest of my life."

Tatter laughed brushing a paw down the girl, his paw was instantly soaked and he shook it off, which didn't help, "Yeah, you're all going to catch your deaths out there, why don't your teachers just call off classes for these days?"

Ben shrugged and sat picking at the bones which where left of lunch, Sai joined him.

"What's your problem anyway?" Ben asked chewing on a bone.

"What?" Tatter rose his brow, Triton's eyes grew a little big, he knew where Ben was going and he didn't like it, his uncle never liked speaking of his problems with storms.

"With storms old man."

Triton waited for his uncle, who walked over to Ben, to strike, meanwhile Ben just kept gnawing away, "Didn't your family teach you any manners for being with the king?"

"Nope, never cared none either."

Tatter laughed, which got a sigh of relief from triton, "Ah, you'll grow up to be a wise lion one day Ben, I can tell, make sure you take care of my nephew."

"Will do," he paused to pick off some meat he found, "you going to tell us or what?"

At first Tatter gave him an irritated look then smiled shaking his head, "I guess it's about time, I owe Triton an explanation."

Triton's ears perked up, his head turned to the side, this was getting interesting.

"Well one day, along time ago, I was just a little older than all of yall I believe, I was caught in a storm, a vicious and deadly storm, and I almost died."

Triton's brow furrowed, "That's it, _that's _why I must stay indoors?"

Tatter's face sagged a little, he was frowning with sadness, Triton recognized it from when his Uncle had fits missing his father, or his grandfather. "You don't understand, it was horrible, there we where, a whole group of lions, from our classes, when all of a sudden this cloud touched the ground."

Price was suddenly interested, "A cloud touched the ground?"

He shook his head, "but when a cloud touches the ground, it is a great and terrible thing, it was huge, its size far surpassed that of pride rock's, and its power was great. All the land it touched was dug up, all the plants it touched where destroyed, as where lives, when it hit where we were at it left me and the tree that saved my life intact, but…" he paused looking towards the ceiling and seemingly through it, "but that day a few of my friends lives where cut short." He sighed; he had rarely told that story before.

"Jeez," Triton muttered looking at the floor, he felt sorry for his uncle.

"I'm sorry Triton," his uncle went on.

"For what?" Triton gave him a curious look coming off the ground, seeing his uncle come around the carcass and sit next to him.

"For being so strict, I tell you what, I may be deathly afraid of storms, but ill be a little more lenient on you. Here's the new rules, you can go out in storms but if you go away from pride rock always go in a group, with your friends here is fine enough for me, I trust them." Triton nodded but Ben looked as if he had just been filled with pride.

"Great, there goes his big head," Sai muttered getting a kick from his friend.

"I don't want you going out still during real bad storms, and if you're ever caught out in a bad storm seek shelter immediately, it has to be somewhere sturdy and safe, a cave is the best, for if one of those ever attacks us again and you're caught outside, I may just loose my favorite nephew."

"I'm your only nephew," Triton said laughing,

Tatter eyed all his brother's former lionesses, "I hope so."

That day they left the cave back into the rain, despite complaints from Price about getting soaked again, it was a light tropical like rain that cooled Tritons fur, if there was anything he liked best it was water, for some reason it seemed his white fur always heated up in the sun around his brow and eyes and his tail where he had grown a black bunch of fur at the end, and water always cooled it off. It was in no way the saie day his father had talked about, no finger of the god's here.

"If I get sick I'm going to kill you Tri." Price complained pushing some matted fur out of her eyes.

He laughed, "Come on."

"This _isn't _your first time outside in the rain." She said walking up next to him; it looked as if it was raining as far as the eye could see; which was pretty far for the light rain.

"No, but it's my first alone."

She eyed him "Where here."

He laughed, "You don't count."

"Screw you too," she laughed and pushed him, what dirt was on the ledge had softened into mud and his white fur was already extremely dirty.

"I'll get you for that." He started to chase her

She screamed and laughed and they chased each other off of pride rock and down into the mud, Ben joined in the fun while Sai sat out and watched in the safety of the pride rock's ledge. In a moment she had her over and she was completely muddy, she smiled at him, he grinned his devilish grin back, "Now both your mom's will be mad at us."

She giggled, "Yeah,"

Three lions rushed past them splashing the playing cubs, "Hey!" Ben yelled but the three lions ignored them.

Sandra laughed, watching the cubs; Sara sat down next to her son who was watching the rain lighten. "Why don't you go join them now?"

Tatter laughed, "and become as dirty as them, good luck wash…" just then three lions he recognized from the royal guard came bounding up the rocks. They where all young males and they all bowed to tatter.

"Uh what's going on?" He eyed them warily

"Sir, its Davine!"

Sara stood, "Davine!?"

The group now consisting of five, the trio Tatter and his Mother, and they all descended over to Davine buy a forested river, a lion had stood guard over him. As they approached they looked towards the solemn looking guard who sat over the massive body of Davine, he shook his head, "He passed almost the moment you left."

Sara was already beginning to cry, Tatter had never grew that close to his father's cousin, but he knew him as the leader of the royal guards and bowed to his second cousin's body. He then nuzzled his mom who was still weeping a little. "I'm sorry mom." He turned to the guards, "What happened here?"

The guarding lion, the oldest of them all just shook his head smiling, "We where bored and decided to check out reports of an elephant causing trouble in the pride lands, when we found him he was just drinking of this river and we just confronted him with respect." He sighed and looked at the crushed form of the largest lion he had ever known, "then he reared up right for me and Davine here pushed me aside, the thing's whole foot encompassed Davine's body, we chased the elephant out of the pride lands towards the old graveyard's site, hopefully it'll die out there, but we came back and Davine was barely alive."

One of the younger ones nodded, "It was like the elephant was mad, buy the time we came back Davine could hardly speak and wasn't even partially coherent, he kept calling out for your father."

Tatter nodded, "Poor guy,"

That night they laid him into the river where he would rest and lay to return to the earth. But this month wouldn't see only one passing of the age before tatter.

In the midst of the night a week latter tatter blinked as a lioness nudged him, it was Pyre's darker younger sister, and tears dotted her eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked sleepily.

A tear slid down her eye, "Its dad."

The moon was laying to rest buy the time they reached the southern caves, his leaving had woke Triton who had insisted on coming, so carried the growing cub along with him, he hadn't woke his mother or his wife. Out of all his father's family members Tatter had grown more attached to Rigger than any of them, he knew Rigger was getting on in his age, but he hadn't ever thought Rigger was sick. He was still visited often buy his second cousin he considered more of an uncle than anything, and it had only been weeks since his last albeit short visit.

Yet when they came to the cave he could smell it, it was the foul odor of a lion that was past his prime, a lion that was passing. He entered slowly and sat down his nephew, who trotted slowly behind his father. "Rigger." Tatter called out to him.

Rigger looked up and tried to rise to his feet but failed, he just grinned an almost embarrassed grin to his young second cousin. "I'd bow but it seems for the moment I'm down here for good."

Tatter ran up to him and nudged him, "You don't bow to me, just lie and rest, you need to get better."

Rigger coughed a laugh, "You know better than that, I've lived with your father and our ages have moved on. I was bound to get sick some time soon, I'm dying Tatter, lets not fool ourselves."

"Uncle Rigger?" it was Triton from behind his uncle, he had also come to know Rigger well, they where buddies when it came to playing push the rock, for once in his short life Triton didn't look sure, instead he looked scared.

"Why did you bring him? He's too young."

Tatter nodded, "But he loves you too," the sisters came up and sat around their father, pyre nudged and sought comfort from her younger cousin Tatter, who nuzzled her in turn, she started to cry on into his mane.

"Oh daughters, don't cry, I've had a good an adventurous life, mostly thanks to your father Tatter. Jake was a great lion, and you've gotten to be so much like him, I remember how much trouble you where when you where little, we all thought you'd be like that forever. Always getting into trouble, always getting hurt."

Tatter put his arm around pyre but smiled at Rigger, "Well we don't always end up like our younger selves Rigger, you were a little mischievous as well when you where younger if I remember my father's stories. And yet you grew up to run your own place, your own family of lions."

Rigger smiled, he seemed to rub up against the ground, he could feel the life draining from him, his breath seemed harder to pull, he could feel a certain coldness entering through is feet, he no longer had the power or strength to move. "I love you Tatter, Pyre, Trive." He sighed, Pyre tensed into Tatter's mane but the breath drew back in, Pyre sobbed. "Pyre, I pass… I pass my duties on, onto you, you will lead my cave, and accept any and all outcasts from their family, please, I love…" he sighed again, this was a deeper longer sigh, as if the breath he first took in this world was finally released.

Pyre started sobbing harder, Tatter shared her tears for a moment, yet he knew that there was an afterlife, he had seen the darker side of it, and he knew that somewhere Rigger was once again with his mother and brother who had been murdered so many years ago within their old home of the ravine. He hadn't been alive when all of that had gone down, he never knew his great aunt or any of his great uncles, he didn't know half of the family he supposedly had, but it didn't matter, right now the family beneath his arm needed him more. He gripped pyre tightly and as Trive came over he held her too so she could cry, he felt his son behind him who was more scared and confused than anything and turn to him with a sad smile on his face, "It's ok, you can wait outside if you want."

Triton nodded, outside the sun was beginning to rise on a new day, somewhere a group of birds chatted loudly, and the night guard was sleeping soundly. He smiled at that and walked out a bit more, into the grasses, he was only a young cub and he was already missing his friends. When his uncle came out the cave along with pyre he nuzzled her and nodded to the cub. "I think it's time we headed home, I've had enough death to last me a month."

Triton looked up at him as they started to walk home, "Uncle Tatter?"

"Yeah?" Tatter said keeping his head to where his home would great him in a couple of hours.

"What's dead?"

Tatter stopped grimacing; he guessed at the age of six, and already growing so much, he'd have to tell the cub one day, he had decided he wanted it to wait another few years, but if the cub was asking he'd tell. He sat, Triton realized his uncle had sat and came back to him.

"So you wanna know what death is?"

Triton nodded, grinning, he loved morbid stuff. "I know what death is, mostly, dead things don't live anymore, but is there anything else."

"There's plenty," he nodded, and he went on to tell Triton of death and life, of how death is something that will happen one way or another, and he went on to speak of the circle of life, and the great kings in the sky, and the afterlife he knew was real because he had visited it. When the lions finally did get back to the cave they curled up together away from the others as not to wake them, but Triton couldn't sleep, he was thinking way to much, and one day, his uncle had told him, Tatter would pass on and pass the title to Triton.

One week later his dreams where broken, when Sandra came to Tatter with an look on her face that told his uncle all he needed to, that day there was much celebration though Triton didn't know exactly what was happening, but his aunt's belly had grown quite large, he wondered if she was going to pass now too.


	3. Chapter 2

Ch2

Not long after he turned eight Triton found out what was going on, his aunt just kept getting larger and he was unhappy but unsure. His uncle seemed to have less time for him, and he hung with his friends more, and it was Ben who finally broke it down for him.

"Listen, man," he said kicking at some ants as they walked through the plains, "You're no longer going to be king."

"Of course I am," Triton argued laughing off the thought, "Uncle Tatter has always told me about it, he's preparing me, for the best," and he turned to Sai who backed to the other side of Ben, "and the worse." He grinned, but Sai didn't back of this time.

"You don't get it." The chubby lion said.

"What?" Triton shrugged, not caring.

Ben shook his head, his friend was way to stubborn sometimes, "When the throne is given up, it is the first born of the closest relative, now you may be first born, but now he is his own closest relative, the kid is of _his _flesh and blood, he will be the new king. You aunt is _pregnant _meaning her child will be the next king."

"But…" Triton thought a minute, his white fur rustling in the wind as he stood still, the look dawning over his face saying he finally got it, "No it can't, tell them Price!" he said catching up to the others

Price just shook her head, and bent down to lap some ground water they where passing up, "He's right, I'm sorry Triton, unless something happens you're no longer the next king."

Triton stopped again, his face scrunched in fury and he swiped at a tree they where passing, his little claws barely scarring the bark. "No! It's not fair, I'm the next king!" he started pounding his claws into the ground, "Not fair! Uncle Tatter said I was king!"

Sai and Ben backed off a little, but Price just stepped up, "Listen Triton, I'm sorry about this, but…"

Triton turned to swipe at her, she jumped back baring her small but full row of teeth, "I'm the king!" he yelled at her, fury in his eyes.

"Triton," she calmed herself down, "what's wrong with you?"

He finally stopped at the look of hurt in her eyes, and sat, his head down, "It's not fair."

She nodded and came to him again, and held him, it wasn't fair after all.

A just a couple of months after his eighth birthday the new fur ball was born, he tried to watch it but his mom kept him at her side and the baboon doctor just kept getting in the way he sprinkled something and then shook something. Finally Riki took the cub, and climbed up pride rock's ledge as the parents followed him, and the baboon held the cub high for the land to see and all who had gathered praised the future ruler. It was just a little cub, whose eyes where wide with wonder at the world.

He heard his mom gasp, "You've got a baby girl cousin to play with." She said nudging him.

"A girl? Not a king?" Triton asked a glimmer of hope in his voice.

She shook her head, "No, a queen."

Riki turned handing the cub back to the parents, behind them sat Sara whose aging eyes where teary with joy. "What do you name said cub I've anointed the next heir to the throne." The baboon asked.

Tatter eyed his wife, and she nodded, he nodded to Riki, "We agreed I get to name the girl, she gets to name a guy, and I like Jesse."

Riki nodded, rattling his staff over the young cub again, "Jesse it is, welcome to the world child."

The cub cooed and tried to twist in her mom's grasp, this made all the lions atop the rock laugh, all but one, triton stared at her with a hate he had never felt before, he was to be the next king, and he'd find some other way to do it.

His mother nudged him, "Mr. grumpy, don't be that way, please."

He gave his mom a distasteful look, "Ma…" he wined

"Come on, it's not your fault anymore than it's your uncles, just be nice and love your cousin like your sister, she will love you, like a brother."

He looked away from her and got off her legs, and stalked off the rocks.

When the ceremony was over Sandra and Sara where paying attention to the cub, whom Sandra was busy bathing, when Sam came to the other ladies.

She nodded to the others, then turned to Sandra, "Listen, I have a problem."

She stopped bathing Jesse and looked up, "How come?"

"It's Triton." She said looking in the direction he had gone.

Sara laughed, "Listen, you're little cubs just frustrated, be stern only when you need to and loving the rest, I had something similar happen with… Lien," she paused looking sadly at her paws as she thought of her passed son, "He was upset when he learned his older brother was king and he had no chance."

Sandra and Sam nuzzled her as a family member, "But he did, he was for a short while."

Sara nodded, "and he was a great king." She looked up at Sam with loving eyes, "you have a wonderful chance to be a great mother, you must take on any challenges with it head strong and compassionate."

Sam nodded, noticing the older lion had had enough, she nuzzled what she still considered her mother and law and then backed off and lie with the other lionesses, she would wait for Triton, and she would talk to him as well she could.

Triton stalked the pride, somewhere to the east storms brewed, but he didn't care, his tail swished, his eyed where downcast and his brow furrowed in hate, it wasn't fair to him that he'd no longer be king. He looked up, he had come upon the watering hole buy accident, he kicked a pebble into it and it skipped a couple of times, and then sunk, he did it again, soon his anger turned into heated battle as he tried to get it skipped even further. He was painting hard within minutes and bouncing around, not paying attention to anything, when he jumped sideways into a lion and stumbled back, "Hey watch it!"

"Watch it yourself young Tatter."

Tatter looked up, it was his dark colored distant cousin Trive, "Aunt Trive?" he looked away from her, his face drawn in.

"What's wrong my little man?"

"Nothing,"

"Come now," she said as she drew him closer with her arm "you can tell your cousin anything," she got closer to him "Especially without Pyre around."

He smirked a little, Trive was as mischievous as he was, "It's the first time _you _didn't call me your little prince."

She shrugged, waving her paw around then looking intently at one retracted nail with a scuff in it, "Well technically…"

"Nothing!" he growled, and started to walk away

She gave him a surprised look, then followed him, "Listen Triton, no need to snap at me like that."

"Shuddap." He said walking faster, she kept up with him, then sighed, and picked him up, "Hey!"

She put him down on a small boulder a little larger than him, then came eye to eye to him, "You will listen to me or whatever punishment your mother seems unable to deal out _I _will and more!"

He nodded to her, his anger forgotten, his ears drawn back.

"Listen, not everything goes as planned, as wished, as wanted, I know, believe me." She stalked around the rock as Triton followed her with his head, "But you must make the best of everything, look, my dad's gone, he's made my sister the leader of our rock, I get nothing in return but I still make the good parts of it. You are the cousin to the queen; you will have all the pleasures of royalty without any of the responsibilities."

"But I was _supposed_ to be king." He started

She shook her head, "There is a saying your grandfather once taught me along time ago, Jake told us of Hakunna Matata."

"Wha?"

"It means no worries; put your past behind you. What has happened has happened and unless something happens to your dear little cousin, it will never change, get over it, and become bigger for getting over it."

He nodded, she picked him up, "Where we going?"

"Taking you home, you need to spend time with your family, and watch your cousin."

That night he sat with his little cousin, watching her try to move around with a distasteful look on his face, wondering what he was going to do, he noted his uncle was keeping a close eye on him. Triton walked up to the cub who eyed him in wander, she was a little light orange cub, not quite yellow yet no where as dark as the usual oranges of the land, and she had the circles around her eyes her father wore, he looked closer at her as she rolled over on her back, and pawed his face. At first he drew back, then he just smirked at walked off, an idea had been knocked loose buy that small punch to the face; he knew exactly what he had to do.

For days he planned it, he watched her and her father's routines, saw when they woke, plaid, bathed, learned the same lessons he once did, and then slept. He memorized the places they went, the time it took for one to go somewhere else, he memorized as well as he could in the small little head of his, and he waited, for the opportune moment.

It was five days later when his mother was put in the care of his little cousin while the king and queen went off for official business, it was reaching night, and his mother finally went to sleep while the restless cub tried to teach herself to move even more. Out of the darkness crept the albino aging cub, a look of hate and distaste in his face, his darkening eyes and the spot on his forehead giving him a more sinister look in the darkness, he looked truly evil, and anyone that had seen that would have been reminded of a villain of history. He grinned as he crept up to the cub that was ignoring him for now, he would be king.

He stopped next to the cub who looked around at him, he was still grinning his toothy smile, his claws extended and clicking against the stone floor, he was ready for his first kill, he had seen adults do it to animals all the time for food, and he knew it couldn't be so bad. He rose his paw, but when Jesse smiled at him and cooed he stopped mid swing, he brang his paw back up, he shook his head, no longer smiling but determined to do what he had come to do, and he'd be damned if he wasn't finishing this here and now.

A mighty roar rang out in the cave and Triton barely had any chance to react when an even mightier paw caught his small form and sent him flying through the air, and into the cave wall, as his head contacted with the wall pain in his left eye exploded with a brilliant flash, and he fell to the floor, unconscious.

Sam was awake at the sound of the roar and her son crying out in pain, she eyed the king who was nudging his unharmed daughter, and then to her son who lie unconscious on the floor a couple of feet away, she got up and walked over to her son, trying to nudge him, there was no movement. "Tatter, what have you done?"

Tatter turned, his scar and eyes only accenting his anger, "He was about to kill my daughter, he is lucky I didn't break his back."

Sai looked at her son confused, "But, no, he wouldn't."

"He would, he's been jealous of Jesse ever since she took the throne away from him, I gave him his leeway, and he betrayed it." He growled in anger.

"He's only a child," she whimpered trying to wake her son, he was breathing but there was no response, she nuzzled him, was she going to loose _her_ own child, the only thing she had left of her love?

"Yes, and _why _where you asleep?" he narrowed his eyes at her.

She looked at him a face full of contempt, "don't even start with me dear king, we're in the cave, we are perfectly safe, now come over here and help me, we have to do something!"

The king looked away for a bit, then back at his own daughter, sighing he walked up to Triton, "I didn't mean to hurt him bad, I only, I dunno, it was a moments thing, I just thought about saving Jesse." He nudged the albino cub, then patted him a bit on the cheek, then a little harder, "Little Triton, get up, we got a little matter we have tot talk about."

Triton finally opened his eyes to his uncle pawing him, something was wrong with his eyes, for some reason he couldn't see the roof, only the ground next to his right eye, he eyed his uncle and his mother who both became wide eyed.

"His eye." Sam muttered, Tritons left eye was completely white, his iris, his purple, seemingly erased from existence.

Triton tried to rise, he was a little dizzy, and he started to sob, and sat back down, "I, I didn't mean."

His uncle came up to him, and eyed the damaged eye, "God dammit Triton, I didn't mean to hurt you."

Triton started wailing and holding his uncle, "I'm sorry uncle, I dunno, I'm sorry don't be mad."

His uncle took him under him with his arm around the small cubs form "It's okay; you're just a confused kid." He nodded to his sister-in-law, "Listen, I gotta take him to Riki, get him to look at that eye."

Sam nodded, she nudged her little cub, "That was a foolish thing for you to do Triton."

As tears slid from his good eye he sniffed trying to hold in his sobs, "I'm sorry ma."

She smiled, "I'm sure you are."

The king mouthed and picked up the cub and bounded out of the cave, Sam turned back towards the other cub, whose mother now sat near it. "Is she okay?" the cub seemed fine and totally oblivious to what just had happened.

Sandra nodded, "She'll be fine, and I think Triton was hesitating when trying to do it, I don't blame him, and he's just a kid after all."

"Yeah, I'm sorry." She sighed lying down; she had been stupid not to see this coming all week long,

Sandra shook her head, "I don't blame you either Sam, get back to bed, and I'll stay with her for the rest of the night."

Riki woke when he heard the king trying to climb the tree, tatter bounded up and over with the cub in his mouth, and sat him down. "Listen, we had an accident, I think his eye was damaged, can you take a look?"

Riki yawned and got off his seat scratching his back, and walked up to the cub, whose ears where down and tail was tucked between his legs. "No need to fear me young cub just show me your eyes"

Triton looked up and the monkey looked curiously at his left eye, "I'm…not afraid of you."

The king nodded, "He's in a little bit of trouble," he eyed the cub disapprovingly.

The monkey used some powder on the eye, a tear dropped from it, and then he waved his finger to the left side of Triton's face, "You can't see that can you?"

Triton looked around till his right eye caught the finger, "I can now."

The baboon sat, thinking, "Well whatever happened to you child is permanent, like uncle like nephew I guess."

The king eyed the witchdoctor, "I'm sorry?"

"You get in trouble and carried the scar with you you're whole life for it, you're nephew here has permanently lost sight in his left eye, it will be like that forever."

"Shit." Tatter sighed, his ear lowering looking away in shame from the cub, "I'm sorry Triton."

But Triton had nothing more to say to his uncle on the subject, he had no idea if he'd forgive his uncle as easily his uncle forgave him, "I'm tired," is all he'd say, and Tatter nodded, he thanked the baboon and picked up the cub and was off again for pride rock.

When he arrived the lionesses and his daughter where sleeping, he nodded to the guard for the night and carried his nephew in, he sat his nephew, who had fallen asleep on the trip back, next to his mother and then crawled over to sleep next to his own family. He eyed his daughter, his wife, and then his nephew a couple of feet away and sighed, nothing ever seemed easy for him.

The next few days for Triton was hard, he had to learn to use only one eye to find things, and not to get dizzy from his lost of balance of sight. Many times he'd be walking and someone would warn him just as he was about to smack into a wall or run of a ledge on his left side. The most caring for this time was his friend price, it seemed everywhere he went she staid on his blind side so she could guide him safely to where they would be going, and he wondered why she was so good to him. Months passed and he got better at it, and he was soon able to use one eye to see it all, all he had to do was turn at the right times. And finally he braved going back to the ruins of fire mountain, and there he was alone with price, and he cried silently to himself, he cried really for the first time aside from being afraid of a fiercely angry uncle, and the skies cried with him, and he finally got to see the steam rise from the ground.

Triton got up a week later, it was morning and everyone was asleep, that was fine for him because it was his birthday once more and he didn't need everyone wishing him a happy birthday. He eyed Konya, she was also asleep amongst her own children and husband, and he slowly got up, and crept out of the cave. Outside he took his time to stretch, and bound down the rocks. Below Price waited for him.

"Happy birthday." She said eyeing him.

He nodded, "thanks I guess, let's get going before more people realize that though."

She giggled and followed the albino as they started towards the water hole, when she arrived slightly behind Triton she eyed the lionesses that where around. "Lots of new young faces around."

"Young? There all in there teens."

She gave him an irritated look, "That's still young."

"Older than us." He said, eyeing a few who where looking at him weirdly.

"Were almost teens, you have what, two or three more years?" she walked over to him and eyed a black strand of hair that was starting to rise from his head, "See, this is even the beginning of your mane."

There was a loud growl and something sharp like a short bit of thunder rang out in the distance, all the lionesses looked towards the direction, Triton eyed the distant hills, something was coming this way, it was big green and square shaped, and it was throwing up enough dirt behind it to be a heard of wildebeest. "What the hell?" his eyes narrowed.

Price scooted behind him, seeking a bit of protection "What is that?"

The king was watching his wife bath his daughter, Sam had gone off to look for her son, it was his ninth birthday and she wanted to celebrate, when he heard the noise, at first he had been interested but no one else seemed to have noticed, he shrugged and lied back down, he was just in a lazy mood today. He was startled when a lioness came bounding into the caves, "Humans! Hunters!"

The king leapt to his feet and without second thought bounded out of the cave, he eyed the big green box which carried the humans, upon its hood was one of his own, bleeding from a hole in its stomach, and tied to the hood using his lands vines. As it pulled along side the water hole and someone leaned out of it he eyed his white furred nephew hiding within the grasses near it. All he could think about was the only other time he had met humans, those luckily hadn't killed him, but they had kidnapped him, and had it not been for his father he would have never made it.

"Aye mate," the skinny white Australian yelled to his hunting partner, "You think that's a rabbit?"

His partner, an blond well tanned American, looked over the driver's shoulder, "Nah that's to big man."

"What is it then?" he pulled his sunglasses down.

The American climbed out of the hole in the roof of the truck, donning his binoculars, "I'll be a monkey's uncle, it's a cat, a lion I think, a little white lion!"

"A white lion!? Oy that fetch us a pretty nickel back in the states!" he picked his scoped rifle off the floor board, but his friend staid him with his hand.

"We can't, there's over a dozen or so lion here, they'd be on us in seconds and tearing our car apart."

"Aye, look at that un!" he said pointing to a fairly large lion that had come down from a rock formation near where they where, the lion had a scraggily dark orange stripe down the top of its nose. "It's a beaut."

Tatter eyed the jeep as he edged closer to his nephew who got up at the sight of his father. "What is that?"

"Humans." He growled, and sat next to his nephew eyeing the strange green box, it was shaking and seemingly growling, as well as putting out a foul smelling poisonous odor, he had learned along time ago from his father that humans where the rulers of the planet, the creators as well as the destroyers, they took over lands and destroyed droves of animals to build there own majestic stone lands. "Do not approach them _ever_."

Triton, eyed the box, "I thought humans where apes."

Tatter laughed, "No, no…. inside the green box, see the things inside, those are humans, hairless apes with proud manes like us, and powers to destroy life in seconds."

They both eyed the dead lioness that was laid out across the hood of the car, as they did one of the humans climbed into the back of there jeep and seemingly hunted for something.

Bob was an accountant from New York, his friend Mickey was an affiliate of his own company and they both had the same plan for fun, hunting rare and exotic animals, it was much easier to get a dead lion off the lands than a live one, if the government caught you with a live one they arrested you and returned the lion to the wild, if they caught you with a dead one you paid a small fine and got to keep the corpse. He fished two cans of beer out from the back of the jeep and tossed Mickey one.

"So. Mick, think the big one's his father?"

"Could be, he seems to be keeping awful close to it, which means his mother's probably the albino, I'd like to get my hands on her beautiful hide."

Bob chugged half of his can and let out a tremendous burp, eyeing the large lion that was hidden in the grass. "You gotta watch how you speak around us Americans, sounds like you wanna have sex with it."

Mick laughed, "Aye, that's the Irish, not us!"

Bob laughed spilling a bit of his beer.

"What are they doing?" Triton asked

Tatter sniffed the air, "I can't smell past the foul odor coming from there machine, and its hard to see," he stood and looked over the few lionesses that hadn't yet vacated the watering hole, "Everyone, we need to clear out, I don't know what the humans are up to, but we need to all get to safety."

The duo watched as the lions seemingly started to get bored and clear one buy one, the last three to leave, turning there backs on the SUV, where the striped one and the albino cub and a cub lioness.

"Oy, where losing our fucking chance mate!" he said picking up his weapon again and tossing his beer out the window.

The American nodded, "Take out the big guy and you'll probably stop it's cub in its tracks."

The shot rang out, and something seemingly made of heat tore through Tatter's back leg, right through the lower tendon, and sending him sprawling to the ground. He quickly pawed Triton to hide in front of him, out of view of the humans, "Run!" he yelled at the two cubs. Price quickly took off, Triton skirted around a few rocks and made a shot for home, but on his way he stopped as he passed up the royal guard which ran to aid their king.

Tatter tried to stand but his leg had been numbed, he couldn't move it, couldn't feel anything but a twinge of pain every time he tried to move it. He looked back as he saw the humans climb out of the green box and start towards him.

"Where the fucks the cub go?" Bob asked

Mick shrugged, "Miss the beaut I guess, but we got its daddy."

Tatter tried to claw his way away from the humans as the crunching of soil under their mighty feet came closer, he roared out in pain as one firm foot clad in some kind of footwear stood on his wounded foot. He heard the thunder stick swoop near his head, and clack ready to strike, and the explosion rang out, but further away from his head, and he heard the stick strike the ground next to him as one of the humans yelled out in fear.

Bob went down hard a lioness upon him, digging her fangs into his cheek and clawing at his neck, Mick stood frozen in horror as he watched his friend get torn apart. Soon a pack made of lions and lionesses where upon him, anger in each eye, in each face. Then he gasped, looking towards the lion they had shot, several lionesses where surrounding him, two where tending to it. "Oy fuck, it's the prides leader!" he turned to run but it was only seconds past turning when he felt the heat of the lions upon him and it's claws dig into him, he screamed in pain and agony.

Tatter opened his eye and eyed the lionesses watching over him, to his left a lioness spat out the remains of one of the human's face, the human that had stood on him, "He tastes awful!" she laughed almost in triumph.

To his right several lions had de-limbed and killed the other human, they nodded to their king, Sandra was in the group followed buy Triton and Price not long after. "Oh gods, Tatter, are you ok?" she asked eyeing the wound

Tatter nodded, rising, putting his wait on his good feet, and lifting his left back leg off the ground, "That'll take a bit to heal but I don't think they got me bad." He started limping after the lionesses that escorted him back; meanwhile the cubs behind the group eyed the two corpses and their uncle.

"Look at all the blood." Price said in awe.

"I know," Triton grinned, "it smells wonderful."

She gave him a studied look then a laugh, "come on you weird birthday boy, I think we've seen enough for today."

As they started to walk off several lions from the royal guard made there way back, and started to drag the humans away, most likely the bodies would be left in the forbidden area, which would be left to the young lions who hung out there illegally to do with as they wish, Triton made note to try and make it back before his friends where done with it.

Back in pride rock Tatter lied in his usual area as king, here he'd probably lay for a few days till his leg became usable again. Here many of the lionesses started to tend to the wound, some cleaned it, others put some kind of ointment on it, and within minutes Riki himself was down with a bag full of herbs, he mixed something, placed it on a leaf, a big goop of green, and applied the leaf to the king's foot. The king roared in pain as a searing heat tore through his wound again.

"I know it hurts, but it must stay on and be changed everyday buy me till its better, you'll be getting it allot." Riki said, packing up his things, "and I'll be staying here to keep an eye on you, make sure it doesn't get sickly."

Tatter shook his head, "You don't have to."

"Yes I do, if your leg turns sick we have to take it off." He said settling against a wall.

Tatter looked behind him towards the wounded and bandaged leg, "Well I do like my leg." He smiled.

Later that night when everybody had settled down he snuck out with Price to head to the ruins of Fire Mountain, and down there this late at night there where still allot of young lions hanging around, some where munching on something, Sai was one of them. "What'cha got Sai?"

"One of the humans, not that bad really." He said tearing something that looked like skin.

"An acquired taste I assure you." Ben admitted stepping out of the shadows, "I thought it was awful, still can't get that aftertaste out of my mouth no matter what I lick."

Triton looked around, and spotted the two bodies, one had almost been picked clean, and the other was getting there as a vulture was currently working on it. "I wanna try."

"Ewww." Price stuck her tongue out, "count me out."

Triton trotted over to the human with the most meat on him and brushed the vulture aside, then sat and sniffed it, there was a sweet stink to the human, something he had never smelled in his life, the vulture cawed at him hoping to get back at its meal and he nodded, he took a hold of a bit of meat on the humans cheek and pulled it off with a small struggle, then held it in his mouth a bit. He opened his mouth and let it drop with a sick look on his face, brushing his tongue with his paw, "That was gross."

"Told ya." Ben laughed at him, and then started to lick the ground, "and it won't go away."

Price giggled, "You two are weird."

Sai swallowed the bit he had in his mouth, "I like it."

Ben looked up, "You'd eat wilder beast poop." This got a hurt look from Sai, but it was quickly forgotten as he returned to his meal, Ben turned to Triton who was still brushing his paw over his tongue, "So what's your future plans Mr. no longer king?"

Price hit Ben in the back of his head but Triton just shrugged, "I dunno, I guess I have to find something for me to do or I'll just go mad cooped up in that small cave all day with nothing to do." He started to climb back out of the ruins, his friends followed, from where he stood after he could see a good chunk of the land, and he noted he had started to grow a little, "I'm sure I can find work somewhere."

"Work" price wined, "but where just cubs"

Triton shrugged "we won't be forever, and I don't plan on doing nothing forever either."

Triton grew, over the next few years, and buy the time he had hit eleven he was a good sized growing cub, and he had a bushy bunch of black strands waving from his head, and the curves around his eyes had also grown black, and while he grew, and grew more intelligent, and even grew to play with and love his three year old cousin, he never forgot that it was suppose to be he that was to be king.


	4. Chapter 3

CH3:

CH3:

It was a cool evening when Triton awoke from his nap out upon Pride Rock's outer ledge; he could smell the hint of rain from somewhere far away as the wind whipped through his tiny mane. From his place he could see the entire kingdom, his kingdom, the kingdom that had been ripped from his grasp. He scattered those thoughts, going into his teen years those thoughts did nothing good for him. As his young cousin, the next queen of the land, learned to walk and talk correctly, he'd need something else to do. He decided now that he was a teen; this would be the time to do it.

Getting up he startled a snort from his mother, "Where you going?"

He smirked, his mom had been lazing the day with him, royalty had turned his whole family into lazy slobs "To get a job."

She shot him a confused look, "Royalty doesn't have to have a job."

He nodded "I know mom, but I can't sit around doing nothing all the time like you guys, if I'm not going to be king… then buy god I'll be something".

Just a few feet from pride rock was the start of the ravine, supposedly opened several years ago buy some mystical force, he doubted the story but the ravine and its uses were real enough, and no doubt this would be the easiest place to find a job. The first several miles of the ravine where blockaded partway down the ravine for the safety of pride rock and the royal family, no sneak attacks that way.

The ravine, also known as the market as nicknamed buy some outlanders, was quite today, during midweek, even during midday. There where a few stragglers browsing the shops, but no big activity. There where several vendors here and there, cleaning and restocking, but each told him the same story, there was no demand for extra hands or work. The other reason he wasn't being hired was apparently his age, apparently most the lions around here worked in their adult ages, kids his age weren't viewed as mature or reliable enough to work yet.

This reason came about in an odd way as he was about to give in, halfway through this ravine, when he got his first ray of hope. A hardened looking lioness had called to him as "Hey kid!" and he had come over quickly. The lioness was the lead in a troupe of lions that "Bent the will of men, to get them to pay for pleasures."

Triton new exactly what that meant, this was a whore troupe, and what they needed a young male lion for he did not know.

"We are but the…actresses of this sort of play here, we have no men to do some of the harder work around our place for us, or protect us. We where looking to where to hire some, but if you are desperate for work, we are desperate for help."

Triton thought it over, it was the only work he had been offered, true there was still half the ravine to check out, but his other chances where slim, he nodded, "If you can use someone my age, then I'll accept.

One day later he stood amongst two older and bigger males, one a late teenager, the other a big burly spotted panther from the south. The older lion was Charlie, he had been sought out due to his practices with the royal guard in sabotage and fighting, he had been kicked out of the guard for trying to sabotage his way to the top. The spotted panther was Crank, he was huge, muscular, and seemed to twist his neck just to pop his spine every few minutes, he had been chosen due to his size.

The older lady from before again walked in front of all of them, this time a group of a dozen or so younger lionesses, each emotionless as their master, watched the new trio. "You will each have your separate duties inside and outside our regular work days. For off times you," she pointed to Charlie, "Will be doing allot cleaning, the walls, the ceilings, the floors and whatnot. What we do here is quite dirty and our customers usually don't like lying in the last ones mess."

Charlie grimaced at the thought of cleaning up someone else's mess, but nodded. She went on to Triton.

"You outside of regular work will sweep the main areas, keep the bar clean, and bus the tables at the bar." She patted his short main. Then she nodded to Crank, "You my large friend will do heavy lifting and construction."

She about-faced and started up again, "But you're main jobs are you're most important, during the weekends when we are fully open to the public you wont have time for cleaning during open hours." She nodded again at Crank as she started back, "You will be crowd control mostly, keep everyone in line, and make anyone who steps out of line pay." Crank grinned at that, apparently that's the job he had expected.

Then she stopped and nodded to the last two, Triton and Charlie, "You two will work together, as a team, Triton, you will be our eyes, as you bus the tables out in the main foyer and serve private rooms you will keep your eye out for suspicious activities, being so small gives you an advantage of being ignored, in the crowds we get even you're odd coloring wont be noted. You will immediately drop anything you're doing if there are signs of trouble, and communicate this to Charlie. Charlie, if you think you and Triton can take care of the situation, do so, if not then get Crank in on the action if you think it'll be a bit much for the both of you."

They both nodded, and the harem left, leaving the new guys alone. Triton looked around, "Well what now?"

Crank shrugged, "We get to work." He said in a deep, long voice typical of his kind.

So they did, it not being the weekend they got to do their other jobs. Charlie found most of his work in the private rooms where weeks of activity gone unclean had built up into gunk you could see, scrubbing a room took about two and a half hours each. Crank began to fix up some of the fixtures, fixed part of the makeshift bar, and even got around to helping Charlie clean. Triton had a pretty easy job as he swept the main area of trash and dirt that didn't belong, and got the place ready for what the ladies had called their "next performance.

Buy the ends day Triton was only a bit tired, but both the older males seemed exhausted. The harem leader, named Sadie smiled a little and nodded approvingly, "Nice job guys, you have the rest of the week off, just come back Saturday for our opening for the weekend, until then we only have a few private gigs we wont need you for.

When Triton got to his cave his mother was asleep inside, but Price was there waiting for him outside the cave, she had a strange look about her. "I heard you got a job."

He was suddenly uneasy about the tenants he worked with, what would Price thing of him working a whore house. "Yeah"

She nodded, "Well, you going to fill me in?" She smiled as she walked past him.

He turned following her off pride rock and into the grasses, towards the local water hole, "Yeah, well, I work for a group of… erm, ladies, and I work in janitorial duties, serving, and security."

She nodded, "Sounds cool," she grinned, "I'm kind of proud of you, getting yourself a job and putting all that other nonsense behind you." Triton didn't blush often, but her praise made him uneasy, it was unlike her, "any chance I could visit?"

They had reached the water hole when he stopped at this question, "Uh, I'd rather you not."

She waded in, frowning "Why not?"

His eyes downcast to the side, embarrassed, he cleared his throat, "It's not really a place for young girls."

"Oh but its fine for young guys, what you work in the versus ring, I've been there!"

"No" he mumbled, "I work for some whores."

"What?" she thought she hadn't heard him correctly.

Louder he admitted, "I work for the harem in the ravine."

Price's jaw had dropped open, and from where not sounds of protest or outcries of shock but laughs, "Oh my god! You work for a whore house, are you their first male prostitute?!"

"No!" he defended himself, "I told you what I did!"

She laughed and swam closer to the edge of the pool, where he still stood outside, "I'm just joshing you Tri, relax. Anyway I'm sure you had a hard days work with all you told me your in charge of, come in and relax."

He did obediently, still loving the soothing feel of the water against his hot fur.

"I'm still visiting." She laughed again.

"Whatever." He started to brood.

She sighed, and wrapped a paw around him dragging him out further, "Oh come on Mr. Grumpy, there's no reason to brood."

"Goodnight" Triton said as he watched Price walk into her families den and started home himself a few miles away. Despite the taunting the night had gone pretty well, a good steady job to keep himself busy and his mind off the past, and then hanging with one of his best friends. Despite that the day had been hot as the moon rose less than a quarter into the sky a cool breeze began to whip his short immature mane about. It was beginning to cool down. As he got closer to the other side of the water hole he eyed the ancient green human box from years ago, since then vegetation and playful cubs had claimed it, and the dead lion had long been removed and buried somewhere. But despite its ruinous stature, the thing still gave him the creeps, told him of the poisonous gas it once produced, the thing looked as it could leap to life at any moment with glowing eyes and kill him.

He heard rustling behind him, and he turned quickly. Because of the wind all the grasses and the trees swayed, making hard to discern movement, and the mixed motion of the winds, plus his upwind status, made it impossible to smell anyone following him from behind.

Several minutes had passed with nothing the wind didn't move, moving, and he shrugged it off, it was his nerves, and imagination, acting on the feeling of the human's box. Starting off for pride rock again he blocked out all his imagination, and sounds of the movement of the wind, and made his way home in piece.

Unknown to him a dark figure, crawling on all fours, and in a dark human cloak, followed closely behind him. The figure watched his prey, the former prince, climb into his home, and then used his orange paw to finger something within his cloak. "Time is drawing near," He said both to himself and his precious object.

That weekend was busy beyond Triton's wildest imagination, he worked the main area at first with everyone else, but in the flood of hurried and anxious males his two jobs seemed impossible. While he wasn't the only one waiting on the men, the harem women also split that job between themselves, everyone wanted something all at once it seemed. Forget his other job about security, how he, Crank, or Charlie could keep anything under control in here was impossible.

He was about to lose it when he saw his first suspicious subject. A lion, in humans clothing. It seemed the lion had on something he'd later learn was called a cloak, a human cape with a hood.

Almost as if psychically connected the moment he thought how the lion seemed suspicious the lion looked straight at him, and then smirked. "Triton," he nodded reaching inside his cloak, "I've been looking for you."

Triton's ears went back, what could this man want with him, he just started working here! He backed away as fast as he could from the stranger, ducking under two of the harem girl's legs, whom tried to slow the figure but only succeeded in being shoved aside. He finally met with a wall of the place, watching helplessly as his stalker became closer, when both Crank and Charlie stepped in between them.

"Can I help you sir?" Crank asked.

"I have some business to attend to with Master Triton, now please shove off!"

"Excuse me?" Charlie asked, he looked back at triton, whom now under a rock outing shook his head no, "Looks like our buddy doesn't want to talk to you, now we'll have to ask you to leave."

"You can't, this is a public gathering." He tried to start through, but Crank held him back.

"For people not causing trouble, out or next time we'll throw you out."

The stranger sighed, Triton still couldn't make out his face, "Fine, you win," then he spoke over their shoulders, "I will see you again young master, and may our meeting be under better conditions next time." And he left just as quickly and mysteriously as he had entered.

That night Crank and Charlie agreed to walk Triton home, as they did they chatted about their past lives. They post already new of Triton, having been ordained prince before his cousin was born, a point he didn't want to bring up, Charlie came from the north, just inside the pride lands just before the great desert, there he had belonged to an offshoot of the old orange tribes that had followed Scar's wife, despite that he was a yellow lion with a dark brown main, he was lanky, and he was very talkative. He had come to the brothel for similar the reason Triton did, boredom. Crank came from the south, most argued weather his land was inside or outside the pride lands boundaries just south of the infamous ravine of history. He had grown up respecting the lions and had always wanted to live closer to pride rock where the legendary king Simba had lived, when he moved out here he noticed the closer you get to the pride rock, the less there was to do, so again, boredom was also his reason.

The hooded figure followed at a distance mulling over each lion's past life but not really caring or concerned. He was angry that he had let himself get distracted earlier at the brothel and caught, and now these two where foiling his plans again, he'd have to wait till tomorrow.

Triton wished his new friends good buy as the moon watched him climb to the top of pride rock, a rustling attracted his attention. He turned, the wind wasn't as heavy as last time, but that didn't matter, he was on edge after the weird encounter in work today. He stalked over to the ledge and eyed the guard; he stood as still as ever watching the night twiddle away.

Triton shook of his fear and turned, gasping at the sight of the hooded figure blocking his way to the cave. Backing up a bit he was about to shout out to the guard when the hooded figure over took him, clamping a paw against his mouth and hushing his yell into a mumble. "Hush young triton, you're in trouble and only I can help you."

"What?" Triton mumbled into his hand.

The figure backed off, his hood fell, he wasn't a lion, at least not full, he had the mane and the looks, but his mane was more fluffy and short, and his body was marred with stripes. "I can't tell you know, find me near the tree where you're grandparents once married tomorrow." He started towards the high ledge on the side, "I will explain all".

There was a large crack and a flash of light and for a moment triton was blind, when he could see again he stared at not the strange being but some of his family members.

"What was that?" His elder great uncle, Brae, asked.

Triton shrugged, "Just a little lightning."

As Brae starred at the starry sky in confusion Triton passed him to try and get a good night's sleep.

The stalker cursed him, gripping the item in his cloak tight as he had watched all that had gone on from a boulder near pride rock. While he had gotten to the cub first in the brothel the betrayer had gotten to him too. If the cub met up with the other one first all his clan's plan was going to be for naught. There would only be one last chance tomorrow to fool the young cub before he had to rely on their contingency plan.

The next morning came and Triton had some decisions to make, he never showed up for work that day, but the man at the tree was kept waiting as well. Triton has one stop he had to make before anything else, Fire Mountain, or the ruins of it. The private hangout was kicking, as usual, of young to old kids. He hadn't been in a while, but he knew price always hung out here, eyeing some kids he knew he walked up.

"Hey Triton!" The aging teen called him, "Haven't seen you here in forever, how's the life of labor?"

"Sinks, have you seen price?"

He nodded, "She usually just hangs down in the caverns now."

He nodded his thanks and then walked off; following a small crevice around the bend the black land curved away and finally came to a wall that opened in front of him. Inside here was a cave made of mostly lava rock and dried lava, here was the ancient land of the graveyard, what bones escaped fire mountains wrath where permanently a fixture of these vast caves. More so these caves, secret to most adults, acted as a private sanctuary for kids, or a place older teens could get naughty. He was unsurprised to find Price pondering in front of a mountainous skull of an elephant, supposedly the same one from the historic ones of Simba's time. He didn't care about that right now.

"Triton, what brings you back to this old place, I never see you anymore, especially not here."

"I've been busy, with work…" he said

"So, don't you work? What makes today so special, it's still the weekend."

She was right, and he also knew what she was getting at, she'd want to be his reason for coming down here, he always knew she had a thing for him, and if he'd ever want a mate she was the one he'd chose, but he was not ready for such a leap, and he wasn't sure he'd ever be.

It may hurt, but he didn't care to lie to her, even to make her feel better, "I need you, you're help."

She didn't look hurt, maybe he read too deeply into her, maybe he wasn't on her mind at all, "You need my help? What could the all mighty loner and hard worker need _my _help for?" She said smirking.

He smiled, she hadn't changed, "I'm catching your Sarcasm." He walked past her and placed a paw onto a broken tusk, he could almost feel the power thrum from the life that had once lived in it, his face suddenly withdrawn, "Seriously though, I need you to come with me, as a witness, as backup if anything, if something happens."

"What?"

He laid it out for her, the mysterious lion that had found him at work and home, his want to meet, and his use of magic.

"Sounds fishy, he may want you alone to do something bad." She looked towards the skull, and back at him, "I don't what you to get hurt."

He nodded, "That's why I need you, Price, we've been friends, well, forever, and you are the only one I can trust to back me up, or leave the place with any secrets he may tell us completely sealed within your head."

"My heads not that thick." She laughed.

He led the way, this morning he had gotten the information he needed. Grandfather Jake and Sara had married a star filled night under what is now known as the great white tree. The tree was odd for the land, and beautifull, and huge, and filled with poisonous berries.

It is said the mystic crystal that caused all the trouble so long ago had been buried exposed there for so long that it gave the land a feel of magic. Aside from the fog that had overrun the place on this clear day, which the lions felt was odd, Triton felt no magic.

The shadow of the tree had hidden the shadow of the lion before them where almost upon him. Gasping, Price staid a step behind Triton, who stepped up close to the man, once again wearing his hood.

"Young Triton," The man said somberly, he sounded now as he had in his workplace, but different than how he had back on Pride Rock, "Now is your time to fulfill your destiny." He reached into his robe, probing at something inside.

"No!" Yelled another familiar voice. The guy from Pride Rock flew down from the tree and landed on the robed figure. Triton watched in aw as the two started to fight, clashing teeth and claws, he was dealing with two.

The one he had talked to clawed the robe's hood, and ripped it off, the one inside the hood looked similar to the other, only he was bigger, and had no hint of a mane, or mixture of colors. He also had prominent stripes, bigger teeth and face, and paws.

"Tigers" Price marveled, she had backed up further away from the fight, seemingly to hope the added fog in between would provide protection, he decided a few feet added between them wouldn't hurt and he retreated to her.

"What?"

Price stared in wonder at the cats, "Mane less, stripes, large size, there from the east, not our allies."

The Tiger from Pride Rock was slammed hard against the tree, shaking it and knocking several berries loose. He slumped forward, unconscious.

"Finally," the other growled.

Without thought the young Triton, half his size, was upon him, knocking him back in surprise, his nails digging and slicing into the meat of Tiger's neck, he could hear air whistle from the punctured trachea. But the Tiger's eyes turned from shock and fear, to satisfaction. He withdrew his paw from his robe, and shoved his paw into Triton's blind eye, and suddenly the eye Triton had been able to see from for so long, was lit with a blinding pink light, the world was drowned out buy bells, he could feel himself fly back, his friend scream, then nothing but pink.


	5. Chapter 4

Ch4

"Kid get up." It was a distant voice in the ocean of pink, Triton couldn't remember anything, all he could think about was that light, pink, such a clear void of pink.

"Triton?" It was price, she was so far away, it didn't sound like water blocking him from her, just space. Yet the pink was like a bath of pure water, he thought this was either the way it felt to be high, or die.

There was a loud slap, he felt his cheek heat up. "Ow." He muttered.

"Good, he'll come around." The other voice said.

The pink did start to subside, replaced with a pinkish blue, and then a blue marred only buy puffs of white and the green of the berry tree. Around him sat price, and the tiger he had saved.

He sat up and turned, putting his friends to his left, there the other tiger lie, blood had streamed from his neck wounds and pooled throughout the area around him, Triton really had killed someone, and he had to admit to himself, it felt kind of cool.

"Be mindful of you're thoughts young one." The tiger spoke, as if reading his mind, Triton rolled his eyes left eyeing them both, and then his breath stopped. He turned almost as pale as Price had already had gone, he could see them, outside his blind eye.

"What the hell?" Price spoke quietly.

"What?!" Triton asked, suddenly concerned.

The tiger held up his hand hushing them, "It's ok, Triton, come, look in the puddle our friend left behind."

Triton walked over to the blood pool and looked in. His left iris was back, but not truly, it was thin, and oddly shaped, like a sliver of a rock. "It is in your eye." He said.

"What?"

"The crystal. The same crystal that cursed your uncle, and your grandfather and helped save the land yet curse his family all the same. From the original crystal fell several all different colors. The pink is the crystal of peace, you find yourself calmer than ever during normal. But…"

Triton held his paw over his eye, seeing out his left eye was making him as dizzy as the day he had lost it, "But what?"

He looked to the side, "Well the crystal pretty much suppresses your anger and hate, but if at any point you become angry it will all be released, and uncontrollable."

He put his paw down, he looked, lost, towards price, who was still in awe. "But why?" She asked, "Why him?"

The Tiger sighed, "Because my old tribe wants to rule the world, not just other pride lands, everything, they plan on using you Triton, as their weapon of war, to suppress your anger until you are an unstoppable hurricane of power that can make the human's power to destroy life seem insignificant."

Triton eyed him, "Who are you?"

He nodded, "I am, Lucian, I was one of them until they turned for domination instead of religion, I learned all I could of there plans and then they found my sympathy out for lions."

Price realized they where all in something deep that no one in the pride lands had any idea about, "We need to tell this to the king."

Ignoring her Triton pushed on, "Why where you so sympathetic towards us when the rest of your race doesn't care?"

He smirked, "Possibly because I'm not one of them. I was raised in their land, and like my mother and father, believe in our religion, I've had way to much experience not too. But while my father was a tiger, my mother was a lion."

"A liger" price marveled, pulled back into the conversation.

Lucian nodded.

"But why me?" Triton asked

"Because of your blood, you surely know of your grandfather's jewel, both cursed and blessed with its power." They both nodded, and he pointed at the one in triton's eye, "Again that one is a cousin, and they believed blood that could activate one, could activate another, it seems they where right, once it got close to you you're eye absorbed it, as your grandfather absorbed the other one into his head."

Triton touched his left eye again, still marveling that he could see his paw from it, getting up he steadied himself, still not used to moving with both eyes. "Price is right, we need to bring this back to the king."

"If he will give us all an audience I'd appreciate it, but we can't go the way we came," he looked at the tiger killed buy the young lions quick action, "more lurk upon the way, it'd be best if we traversed nearer the ravine, in the public." Without waiting for argument he turned towards the ravine.

The day had turned into a mild afternoon, the ravine wasn't as rushed as it had been the day before, but it was quite busy, and the trio blended into the mixed crowns well, especially since Lucian had tied his robe around his hips instead of wearing it.

Halfway through the ravine they where stopped, "Triton!"

It was his boss, escorted buy Crank, who looked irritated himself, "Where you been man? We had trouble!" She yelled at him.

"It's a long story." Triton started.

"What kind of trouble?" Lucian asked.

The other two gave him a distrustful look, and stopped talking, as if noticing him had upset them.

"Tiger trouble?" Price asked, "Its ok, this ones with us, not one of them."

Triton's boss eyed Price, "And I don't know you either, though you're right. Tigers tore up the place, one of our girls where seriously injured, why?"

"Me." Triton marveled, this was all because they where looking for him.

"What, you caused all this?"

"No, not intentionally at least, I think they where after me for my lineage, again it's a long story. I'm sorry I missed work but it's related, I have to make way to my uncles, we have to warn the king."

She nodded, "Fine, but you can't come back?"

"What?!" he started

"We have to let you go, the trouble you caused us is going to cost too much, we can't risk it."

"I'm fired?" Triton almost forgot of his current peril, this crushed his heart, he had worked to find this job and now something beyond his control had torn it away from him.

"Triton" Lucian urged, hurrying along the young cub "We have trouble."

Indeed they did, though they hadn't been spotted yet, several feet above them, crawling atop the ravines edge, where darkly robed tigers, each looking every which way.

"We need to hide." Triton urged "We'll never get out unnoticed; Lucian and I are too obvious."

Crank gave his boss a look, "Fine," she said, "They won't look there, they already turned the place over."

Buy nightfall the crowd started to surge out, and the group took that chance to go as well. They finally arrived at the guarded section of the ravine to find it unmanned.

"That's not good." Triton said, "There are never empty guard posts here."

"Wait here then." Lucian said and disappeared further. Returning a moment later, his face was somber, "Their dead, and the smell of death is stronger up above. It seems they are ahead of our every step." He turned back.

The guards throats where both ripped out, both where typical yellow lions, the normal of the royal guards, one of them had several superficial wounds to his face. Buy the time Triton reached them with Price in tow Lucian was already making his way, rock climbing up the face of the end of the ravine, somewhere above, close, was pride rock. He dreaded what he would find, but pushed forward with nowhere else to turn.

Halfway up Lucian had already bounded over the top when he heard an angry growl and a "halt!"

When Triton went over he saw a dozen or so tiger's spread about the ground, the royal guard was all about the battle field just feet from the entrance to pride rock, they where all staring angrily at Lucian, only one or two had noticed Triton's appearance. "No, he's a good one!"

They all stopped, confused, they had all just finished fighting a horde of the tigers, and now one of their royalty was asking to spare one.

"Surely they meant to kill the king."

"No" Lucian started, undoing and re-donning his robe, "They meant to kill us all. I am not one of them… anymore. It is a long story and we must speak to your king."

Triton barely noticed price having trouble pawing over the mouth of the canyon, "You must take me to my uncle"

With that one of the bodies had risen, not truly dead, he bumped Triton back before Lucian had him down, and killed, in that moment Triton heard a gasp as he bumped into something furry, and then a thud. Peering behind him he ran to the edge of the ravine, down far below Price lay, completely still.

"No…" he said, and his eye began to shine, first his emotions raged, anger at himself, the tiger, everything that had just happened, price was motionless, probably dead, and he failed to notice the power he now wielded, a golden-purple hue that circled his body, pebbles and dust moved in world winds. The pink in his eye started to shine as he turned on the bloody maw of Lucian, and of all the lions that lined the royalties living place. He looked towards the dead bodies of the tigers; they had all caused it, all of them. The world went black.

"Oh Shit!" Lucian yipped as he backed away from triton towards the guard; he gripped out a bag hidden from his own robe, and drew out a couple of jewels. Tritons jewel had gone blacker than night now, despite it still gave off a small pink glow, the dark areas around tritons eye now spread like six sided stars, his lips stained black, his teeth sharpened, he was transforming before there eyes. Even his already black young main seemed to grow.

"You killed her, you all killed her," he growled with a voice more of a fearsome god than that of his own, looking at everyone with great malice.

One of the guard, an old friend stepped up, "Triton, listen man, it was an accident, it was the tiger's fault."

"Shuddap!" Triton screamed, his muscled bulged, his teeth overgrew his mouth, his nose began to bleed, "You're all dead!" There was a crack as a wall of the canyon behind him split under the pressure of all the power.

Lucian threw three of the jewels at triton, when they hit him he screamed again, and soon the guards were on Lucian, holding him down but watching Triton. The pink light grew and engulfed him, and then it was gone, along with Triton, the attacking Tiger now lie motionless no the ground, his eyes rolled into his head.

"Where's the prince?" a lion asked him.

Lucian struggled up "Get off me, he must of went over." They held him back, "I said off," he forced his will out from him, electrifying his bioelectric field and slightly shocking all touching him, they let go, "now let's go see."

Down back on the floor of the ravine Triton looked normal, he breathed heavily, but he had sustained no injury from the fall, Price wasn't fairing so well, though breathing she was doing it very ragged, several ribs where obviously broken as was an ankle, she had an large contusion to the eye that was already beginning to swell, she'd die if not watched closely.

Triton roused, "What happened?," he asked with a slur, as if pulled out of a drunken sleep.

While the guards took Price Lucian turned to Triton, "What do you remember?"

Triton rubbed his head, "Anger, allot of anger. I was, angry, because… Price!" He stood sharply, as if pricked, eyeing her being carried back towards the closest ramp entrance to the ravine, "Is she ok?"

Tatter's eyes fluttered open at the sound of marching approaching, he had heard of the fight outside. His royal guards carried his nephew's friend price, and escorted Triton and a tiger. He stood, "What's this?"

A soldier stepped forward, "She fell during a make on Triton's life."

He looked towards the tiger, "And you?"

Lucian bowed, "Lucian, a liger my lord, agent of the god EA who made man and saved the earth. I betrayed and plot against my brethren tigers that have world domination on the mind, though it seems your forces have your own palace quite secure." He looked about, he guessed it was ok to start, "I come here with warning; the tigers mean to mass an army should this attempt fail, to take over your lands, to destroy your people, and to kidnap your nephew for their own ill deeds."

Tatter gave this odd speaking mix an odd look, "Triton," he turned to his albino nephew, "Triton, what-?" He stopped, memorized buy the shine of pink that glowed from the new thin slit of an iris that took place of his once blind eye. For a moment his head was filled with images beyond his control, of death, of volcanoes, of the past, of his father disintegrating before him a sacrifice that was meant for him.

"Uncle?"

"The… that jewel!"

Lucian nodded, "You recognize it, a cousin of you're fathers."

"But how?"

"The tigers have many like it, they brought it in hope to catch your nephew off guard or even try for him to side with them. I can say the former got the best of us, and as your father absorbed the other, his blood that flows through your nephew absorbed this one."

"Triton, no…" Tatter had almost physically paled, his mouth sagged in horror, it was starting again, the thrumming in his head got louder, the shine in his nephew's eyes got sharper.

"Huh?" Triton waved his hand in front of his left eye, he saw nothing but pink, "Not again."

But it wasn't like before, there was a flash of light, and he was outside pride rock, the plains and the land around him now an arid desert, his favorite waterhole now a green pool of bubbling acid, pride rock had mostly collapsed, the other half of it lie sideways, skewed upon the ground, what animals and lions lied about where not but cooked bone, as black as the land.

The sky was dark and odd, lightning endlessly played about it, strange lightning, the wind smelled of something fiercely wrong.

Another flash and he was amidst a large human stone city, most of the city wasn't typical stone but metal, shards of melted glass lie everywhere, the tallest tower of them all had been cut in half like his own palace, the air and the atmosphere was the same.

Another flash and it was another time back at the fallen pride rock, there where two lions like him, white, they each had only one black eye, one on the left one on the right. There was another lion, he was a dark yellow with dark eyes, an obvious descendent of the royal lion, he was accompanied buy a shirtless fit human in tatters of tan cargo pants with an empty metal cylinder hanging from his side. The royal descendent spoke "This is what our father would have wanted."

The human bent and placed his hand upon the lions main affectionately, "Father would be proud."

This era was a better era, the land was snow ridden, the sky's mostly clear, and animals still existed here, new life, the human removed a sack from his luggage, and from it removed a metal arm, torn and broken with wires and pumps hanging about "Now for my other."

The vision ended, he was clawing the floor, tense.

Tatter stepped forward, "What did you see?"

"I dunno, the future, allot of death, massive death."

"A fire mountain that destroys our land?"

"No, something bigger, it destroys the whole world but creates ways for new life. But yes, our land is gone, so much that our home, pride rock, is completely fallen."

Tatter nodded, looking towards Lucian, "Can we stop it, is it the tigers?"

"No" it was Triton who answered, sure of himself, "No, the tigers are not but a speck of importance here, this was the doing of humans, and there is no way we can change the future this time." He looked back towards his friend, Price, now being fawned over buy several lions, something was taking the elder, a great uncle of his, Brae, too long.

Then they all smelt it, something smelt of fire.


	6. Chapter 5

Ch 5

The pride lands where burning. Tatter, Triton, Lucian, they all stood and watched, seemingly helpless.

"Is this it" tatter barely croaked out at the horrible site of the line of fire, which seemed wider than his own pride lands and where spreading. Surely there was no way to face or flee such a horrible scorching of the earth. Could this heat topple his tower of rock?

"No" Lucian assured him,"This fire smells of magics. It's my people come upon us." He grimaced, "but if it's creqated by magics, it can be stopped by magics. Come on.

"Triton should stay behind." Tatter insisted

The young lion gave him an exasperated look but the tiger stood up for him, "It might be better he can come with us. If he has another attack where he uses his power, i may be able to stop him again. Furthermore if he has an attack while where fighting, lets just say we may be able to turn our enemies weapon against them."

Tatter looked back and forth between the two, unsure how headaches and visions might assist in a fight. "Fine, but i don't want him having another attack, you!" he shouted to the nearby royal gaurd who quickly walked over, "get the royal guard who isn't already out and about out in arms, i want these tigers bled and these fires out. Get the apes to help with tthe fires. I'm assuming they will amass to the east."

Lucian nodded "the east is where they will attack enmasse. However they will thread themselves out thinly tending to the fires and looking for weak points."

Tatter nodded, "you heard the man, now go!"

The guard nodded and was off pride rock in a flash.

Tatter took a moment watching the line of fire edge its way from around the east to the north cutting themselves off from the northern prides. Then he started off with the other two right behind him. The way east was not as long as a trek than to the other borders of his land. In truth there where no big prides or enemies he might have to worry about coming from the east as the further east you traveled the more populated by humans it became.

"Tigers" he muttered as they kept pace in the darkening day, darkened by both a setting sun and a thick cloud of smoke, "you guys are from india right? That's like a quarter the way round the world. Ya'll must have traveled this way for years. Why my pride?

"Well, our ancestors come from india. Over the years our tribes have spread throughout europe, pushed everywhich way by the warming of the planet, the death of plant life and our foods we hunt, and deforestation caused by humans. My tribe has been around egypt for twenty years now, small, untill recently when more from India migrated over. About fifteen years ago i was a young man when our new leader took over. He blamed everything that had happened to our kind, the downfall of our race, on everything else. His purpose since day one was to amass an army, and destroy the other prides, killing all other feline races in our wake.

Then he was to turn on the humans, one by one we'd kill them city by city untill our numbers overwelmed them, and finally, they where exterminated. A world, populated by tigers alone."

"Sounds like every screwed up tyrant I've ever heard of." Tatter admitted.

Suddenly they walked into heat and air so unbreathable all three began to choke. "Tersus Aer." Lucias choked out.

The air cleared, a bubble of air in an otherwise smokey field.

"Wast that human?" Tattered marveled.

The tiger nodded, "great for charms and spells. It says they where the original magicians but gave it up for hapless relligions and science."

Triton twitched at the word science, "that science is pretty strong, it makes metal boxes move on poison gas, lightning sticks that kill in an instance, and i hear those metal birds in the sky are carrying hundreds of them to lands we'd take years to traverse in hours."

Lucian nodded again, "yes, my people hoped to take that technology for themselves once the human race was all but extinct on our lands, allowing them to traverse across the seas. Have you ever seen a ship?" The lions shook their heads in unison, "well a ship is another giant metal box of sorts, or more so shaped as a wedge, it too runs on that poison, and it floats on sea, and can cross it. From what we've learned great metal cities full of humans lie on the otherside of the water of salt and fish."

"The ocean" Tatter sighed, "haven't been in years, think we might take a vacation after this."

They came upon a wall of flame, Lucian reached into his robe and withdrew a giant geode, a rock full of crystal, he threw it into the flame before shouting, "Haud incendia!"

There was a large explosive sound and the area was overrun by cooled air and steam. After a moment of blinding fog it cleared. the flame had died for miles, and feet behind the rock liked a tiger, he was young, nearly Triton's age, from his no longer breathing chest protruded shards of crystsal which Lucian pulled out. He shrugged at the lions horrified looks, and nodded towards a massive shadow moving towards them in the darkness, "were going to need all the ammo i have."

They turned to the sound of marching feet, their own army amassing behind it's king. "Time for a speech i think."

His army was thousands, as large as the others army, however they did not have magic on their side, and from what he learned from Lucian, is every one of the tigers where gifted with magic that they could hit his army from afar. Plus they where are large and very good at fighting. He didn't like the odds, and only hopped his ace would come about. He let his fowl fly into the night towards Riki's tree, and turned to his army.

"We are about to be overrun by tigers. This might seem a bit ridiculous but many of you saw what the power of the crystals held when my father and myself welded them. These tigers use them as weapons, they are prolific in using these... powers they call magic. We have only one magic wielder on our side. You will have to be fast, and agile, its the one thing they lack is agility. They are strong, they are fierce, and they are powerful, so when we break their volley of... magics" he didn't like that word, "the fight will be intense. I will no lie, the odds are against us. However there is no surrender. They plan to wipe out every single lion from our pride, your mothers, your wives, your daughters, sons, brothers, and sisters, will be bleed by these monsters. Our only choice is to wipe them from the face of the earth as they plan to do to us." He turned around as his men and women shouted their hurras behind him.

"Whats the point?" he muttered.

Triton eyed him with wonder, "the point is our loved ones."

He shook his head, "if the humans mean to wipe out everything in the end, why not let the tigers kill us now?"

Lucian held his opinions but Triton sighed, "at the end of my vision, is saw the pride lands again. It was snowing, as it's never done in our land, the snow was feet deep. In the snow where four forms of life, three of theme where lions. We must live, because our pride never truly dies, even after the world end, our circle of life continues."

"But how?"  
Triton shook his head, he had no idea.

Author Notes: Dear Readers, i am overwhelmed out how popular these fan fictions of my favorite Disney story has become, and i thank all of you for a much needed boost of self confidence. As before the story above is raw an unedited, i write them on fanfiction when i have the time, right now I'm writing them before i have to head to my overnight job. I've been absent for so long because i sought unsuccessfully to kick start my own writing career. If you are interested in my other stories, my original stories, please go to Facebook and check out "Joshua winters (writer)" it's a fb group and you can ask to join, don't look up my real fb page "joshua winters" because i wont add everyone i don't know. I have come back to Triton because i was in love with the story and hated that i left it unfinished. I will finish it as i continue to look for some art for the cover of a novelette i will be publishing on ebooks, bty, i do need an artist that dosen't mind that i'm po and can't pay him. PM me on fb if you are interested. anyway i promise i will finish this story though i cannot promise anything about other stories i haven't finished. I hope to get my first original novelette out very soon and then it's onto original writings for me.


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